The gist of it: I had already written about the general lack of demand metrics for computing products in a review of display manufacturing Q1’23 financials, but the drop in Chromebook sales is the best indication that demand problems are just not playing as a big factor in 2023 performance calculations, ie, they just look like they are not going to recover any time soon. Or, maybe, they are not coming back for certain product lines that enjoyed an artificial boom during the pandemic.
Google has reportedly adjusted its 2023 global Chromebook shipment forecast to 20 million units, down from the previous projection of 25-25.5 million units. This revision is attributed to worsening macroeconomic conditions and weak end-market demand worldwide.
Chromebook shipments reached 30 million units in 2020, peaked at 37.5 million during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and then dropped to 19.5 million in 2022 due to the decline in post-pandemic demand. Despite expectations of a demand rebound in 2023, government-backed educational projects have not shown clear signs of recovery. Shipments for individual brands are as follows:
- Dell: 2 million Chromebooks in 2023, compared to 3 million in 2022 and 6 million in 2021.
- HP: 3 million Chromebooks in 2023, down from 3.5 million in 2022 and 10 million in 2021. Shipments may rebound to 4 million in 2024.
- Acer: 3 million Chromebooks in 2023, up from 1.7 million in 2022, and 6 million in 2021.
- Asustek: Shipped 1.1-1.2 million Chromebooks in 2022; 2023 projections are unknown.
Regarding platform market share, Intel-based Chromebooks account for about 70%, while MediaTek’s share is expected to reach double digits in 2023. Qualcomm-based products will make up only 1-2%.
